Design of Slabs-on-Grade

CE A433 – RC Design
T. Bart Quimby, P.E., Ph.D.
Spring 2007
 Introduction
 Slabs on grade are PAVEMENTS not
generally structural elements
 Pavements pass loads through compression to
the supporting soil
 As long as the soils deformations are low,
there is negligible bending in the slab
 Slabs on grade are deemed to be
successful if there is little or no cracking
 Pavement

Apply load to top of slab

Since the slab is stiffer than the soil A thicker slab is stiffer and
the load is distributed over a larger distributes the load over a
area of soil larger area of soil
 Types of Cracks
 Structural
 Structural cracks are the result of subgrade
settlement and/or stiffness discontinuity
 Often occur when a floor is over loaded
 Shrinkage
 Shrinkage cracks occur soon after a floor slab
DRIES and will not increase in length, width
or number after the drying process is
completed.
 Causes of Structural Cracking
 Virtually all structural cracks are the result of
subgrade failure
 The failure may result from one or more of the
following conditions
 The subgrade is improperly designed or prepared
 The slab thickness is too thin for applied loads and
the stiffness of the subgrade
 The concrete does not have sufficient strength
 It is necessary to determine the stiffness of the
subgrade and the magnitude of the expected
loads so that the proper slab thickness can be
determined
 Structural Cracks

Cracks form when the Moment exceeds the Cracking Moment

Thickness Design of Slabs on Grade

 Slabs on grade are, to a limited extent,

beams on elastic foundations. The softer
the supporting soil and/or the larger the
load, the stronger and stiffer the slab
must be to spread the load over more of
the supporting soil
 Slab stiffness is a function of slab thickness
 Slab cracking strength is a function of
concrete strength and slab thickness
 Thickness Design Procedures
 Portland
Cement
Association
 Wire
Reinforcing
Institute
 Corp. of
Engineers
 PCI Method
 A series of charts for various loading
conditions (wheels, racks, posts, etc)
 Example of slab thickness determination
for a wheeled vehicle:
 Data for lift truck
 Axle load = 25 k
 Wheel spacing = 37 in

 Number of wheels = 2

 Tire inflation pressure = 110 psi

 PCI Example Continued
 Contact area = wheel load/inflation
pressure
 Contact area = (25,000 lb / 2 wheels) / 110
psi = 114 in2
 Subgrade and Concrete Data
 Subgrade Modulus, k = 100 pci
 Concrete 28-day strength, f’c = 7,000 psi
 Concrete flexural strength, MR ~ 7.5sqrt(f’c) ~ 640
psi
 PCI Example Continued
 Use a factor of safety of 2.0
 Choice depends of number of stress
repetitions permitted
 Concrete working stress = MR/FS
 WS = MR/FS = 640 psi / 2 = 320 psi
 Slab stress per 1,000 lb of axial load
 WS / axle load, kips = 320/25 = 12.8 psi per
1,000 lbs.
 PCI Example Continued

Effective
Contact
Slab Stress per Area
1,000 lb of axle
load Use 8”
Slab

Subgrade
Wheel Spacing
Modulus
 PCI Chart for Racks
 Need to match
criteria for the
chart
 Read the
instructions for
each chart!
 Causes of Shrinkage Cracking
 Shrinkage cracking occurs due to the
normal volumetric changes associated
with drying
 Normal concrete can only stretch about
0.002 inches per foot without rupturing
 Normal shrinkage is about 0.006 (+25%)
inches per foot
 If the slab is restrained against movement
then cracking is inevitable
 Minimizing Shrinkage Cracking
 Shrinkage cracking can be minimized by
 Reducing the shrinkage characteristics of the
concrete mix
 Reducing restraint on the slab
 Shrinkage cracking can be controlled by
 Encouraging cracks to appear at
predetermined locations
 The use of reinforcing steel
Reducing Shrinkage Characteristics
of the Concrete Mix
 Reduce the volume of water in the mix
 The challenge is to limit the amount of water
in the mix while maintaining workability and
finishability without excessive use of water
reducers
 Use coarser ground cement
 Use the largest sized aggregate permitted
by design
 Use shrinkage compensating concrete
Reducing Shrinkage Characteristics
of the Concrete Mix (Cont.)
 Use proper curing
techniques
 Proper curing keeps water
in the concrete until it has
achieved sufficient tensile
strength before shrinkage
occurs
 Proper curing allows drying
to occur more evenly
through the slab thickness
 Curling
Differential shrinkage due to drying can result in “curling” of the slab
edges, resulting in an induced moment in the slab.

When the moment equals the cracking moment a crack forms,

redistributing the stress
 Sources of Restraint
 Friction between the slab and the ground
 As the slab shrinks, the friction resists the
motion, causing tension in the slab
 Bearing on other features (walls,
foundation, drain pipes, columns, etc)
 Attachment to other features
 Friction Restraint

Tensile Capacity

Axial Stress Diagram

 Shrinkage Cracks

Tensile Capacity

Axial Stress Diagram

Restraint by
Features
 Locating “Cracks”
 Control and construction joints are places
of intentional weakness. They are placed
close enough together to keep tensile
stresses in the slab below the tensile
rupture strength of the concrete
 Control Joints
 The purpose of these joints “is to predetermine
the location of cracks for esthetic and
performance purposes.” ACI 302.1R, pg 6
 “Unless the design provides for the specific
supplemental reinforcing across the joint, the
resulting induced crack may offer no structural
advantage over a randomly occuring shrinkage
crack.” ACI 302.1R, pg 6
 Construction Joints
 These joints “are placed in a slab where
the concreting operations are concluded
for the day, generally in conformity with a
predetermined joint layout. If at any time
concreting is interrupted long enough for
the placed concrete to harden, a
construction joint should be used.” ACI
302.1R pg 6
Control
Joint
Details
Construction Joints
 Joint Spacing
 Unreinforced Slabs
 2 to 3 ft for each inch of slab thickness.
Smaller aggregate size, higher water
contents, and local experience may dictate
use of closer joints
 Reinforced Slabs
 Use a subgrade drag equation to compute
joint spacing (See ACI 360R 6.3)
 Drag Equation
L
Friction  W  As f s  Strengthallowable
2
2 As f s
L
W

 Where:
 L = distance between joints, ft
 As = Area of steel per foot width of slab, in2/ftw
 fs = Allowable steel stress (20,000 psi or 24,000 psi)
 W = Dead weight of slab, psf
  = Friction factor (1 to 2.5)
 Important Concepts for Joint
Details
 Only reinforcement across the joint is to
be used for vertical load transfer only.
Use plain bars and coat to prevent bond to
concrete
 Joint should extend at least ¼ slab
thickness through the slab
 Vertical load transfer across construction
joints can be accomplished with plain bars
or properly designed keyed joints.
 Joints have vertical
transfer but allow in plane
No Vertical Load Transfer shrinkage movement
Controlling Shrinkage Cracking with
Reinforcing Steel
 “Reinforcement serves to restrain the shrinkage,
effectively subdividing the slab and hence
distributing the crack area more evenly. This
produces smaller and more numerous cracks
than would occur in an unreinforced slab of the
same dimensions. The actual crack area
remains essentially the same.”
 Fricks, T.J. “Cracking in Floor Slabs”, reprinted in ACI
SCM-25 (92), pg 122.
 Reinforcing Steel
 Smaller bar sizes are better choices than large
diameters
 This steel “should be positioned one-fourth the
slab thickness below the top surface up to 2.0 in
maximum.” ACI 302.1R, pg 5
 Minimum cover of the steel is controlled by ACI
318 7.7.
 Top cover ¾” inch clear cover for slabs protected
from the weather, 1.1/2” for #5 or smaller bars and
2” for larger bars exposed to weather
 3” clear between bars and the ground.
 Is
Reinforcement
Needed?

Concrete Floors on Ground

By Portland Cement
Association
Second Edition
Sample Slab Reinforcing Calculation
 Determine the reinforcing steel requirement for
an outdoor, 5” thick concrete slab with control
joints spaced 25 ft apart. The slab is cast on a
compacted gravelly soil surface. Use 40 ksi
rebar
 Variables
 fs = 20,000 psi
  = 2.0 (assume that gravel surface has some
interlock with the slab)
 L = 25 ft
 W = 5” (150 pcf / 12”) = 62.5 psf
 Calculation Continued
 From drag equation:
 Req’d As = 0.0781 in2/ftw
 Spacing Calcs:
 #3 bar: s < (.11 in2/bar)(12”/ft)/(.0781 in2/ft) = 16.9
in
 #4 bar: s < 30.7 in
 6x6 W4.0xW4.0 wire mesh gives As = 0.080 in2/ftw.
 ACI 318 7.6 limits spacing to min(3h, 18”)
 Decision: Use #3 bars 15” O.C. each way. Place
with a clear cover of 1” below top of slab.